MASCAC Men's Basketball Tournament Preview
Worcester, MA --- Senior Brian Clark (Deerfield, MA) tallied a game-best 30 points – including the game-tying three-pointer in overtime with 4.3 seconds left – to help lift Salem State to a dramatic 95-87 double-overtime victory over Worcester State on the final weekend of MASCAC regular season play.
With the win the Vikings improve to 18-7 and 10-2 in conference play while the Lancers slip to 8-17 and 5-7 in league action. SSU also claims their 25th regular season MASCAC title in the triumph.
As the top-seed in the upcoming conference tournament, Salem State receives a first-round bye. Worcester State, the fourth-seed, will entertain #5 MCLA on Tuesday at 7 PM. The winner will play the Vikings on Thursday in the semifinals.
Fourth-year Dan Clark (Deerfield, MA) registered a double-double with 26 points and 10 boards as he was also five-for-seven from beyond the arc. Brian Clark also finished 11-for-17 from the field and he grabbed nine rebounds.
Junior Nate Simpson (Lowell, MA) pitched in with a double-double of his own (12 points – 13 rebounds) while sophomore Andrew White (Medford, MA) notched 18 points and five caroms. Senior Apollos Wade (Taunton, MA) handed out a team-best six assists.
Worcester State was propelled by senior Frank Stephenson (Fall River, MA) who finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six swipes.
Sophomore Mike Gittens (Uncasville, CT) finished in double-figures with 24 points and 10 boards and classmate Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MI) recorded his 17th double-double in 25 games (13 points – 14 caroms).
As Salem State emerged with the 36-29 advantage at the half they would lead by as many as nine points at the 14:34 mark before Worcester State went on a 5-0 push to trail, 45-41.
The Vikings then jacked a trio of trifectas to take over the 56-45 lead with 10:52 on the timer. The Lancers responded in furious fashion with a 14-3 run over the next three minutes to knot the score 59-59 with 7:38 left.
After six ties and six lead changes in a five minute stretch, Simpson slammed home a dunk for 68-66 lead with 1:59 in regulation. The visitors extended their lead on a pair of free throws by Simpson, but Worcester State answered with three straight points by Stephenson to cut the advantage to one with 30 ticks left (70-69).
Dan Clark sank the back-end of a bonus chance for the two-point margin with 23 seconds left before Stephenson canned back-to-back free throws three seconds later to force the first extra session.
There were two ties over the first four minutes of overtime as neither team held more than a two-point advantage to set the stage for what proved to be a thrilling end to the games third frame.
With an elbow jumper by Gittens that gave Worcester State the 78-76 edge with 55 seconds left, Dan Clark promptly responded with a trey with 00:45 on the clock. At the top of the key Stephenson hit a field goal with 35 ticks and then stole the ensuing possession before passing it to freshman Charles Gunter (Boston, MA/New Mission) who lobbed a finger-roll for the 82-79 lead with 10 seconds left.
With no time to set-up a play, Brian Clark nailed his only three-point attempt of the contest with 4.3 seconds left from just beyond NBA range as the game would move into the fourth period.
In the second overtime, there would be two lead changes over the first 1:30, but the Vikings would close the game with a 10-3 run for the final score. Brian Clark sparked the spurt with a slam-dunk to seal up the win and the MASCAC regular season title at the 2:38 mark.
After the visitors opened up a commanding 18-6 advantage midway through the first period, the Lancers whittled their deficit down with a 7-0 surge to trail 18-13 with 7:39 left. SSU led by 10 on two occasions as they settled for the seven point lead at the intermission.
Salem State was red hot from the field for the game as they finished with a 48 percent line (30-for-63) and were eight of 18 from three-point land (44 percent). SSU also distributed the ball well as they had 18 assists for 30 made field goals.
The Lancers shot 40 percent with 20 more attempts than the visitors (33-for-83) and they only hit six of their 18 tries from downtown. WSU led in several categories including rebounds (45-44), offensive caroms (21-14), points off turnovers (20-11) and second chance points (21-13).
The two squads struggled from the free throw line. The Blue and Gold finished 60 percent (15-for-25) and the Vikings were a little better with a 70 percent margin from the charity stripe (25-for-36).
Stephenson was honored in a brief pre-game ceremony for playing in his last regular-season home game on "Senior Day."